MassBay professors remember bombing victim Krystle Campbell

With so many students coming and going over the years, not every name has stuck with MassBay Community College professor Robert Tarutis. But when Krystle Campbell's smiling face showed up on the news this week, "it clicked right away," he said.

By Scott O'Connell/Daily News staff

Wicked Local

By Scott O'Connell/Daily News staff

Posted Apr. 20, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Apr 20, 2013 at 8:04 PM

By Scott O'Connell/Daily News staff

Posted Apr. 20, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Apr 20, 2013 at 8:04 PM

WELLESLEY

» Social News

With so many students coming and going over the years, not every name has stuck with MassBay Community College professor Robert Tarutis. But when Krystle Campbell's smiling face showed up on the news this week, "it clicked right away," he said.

Campbell, 29, one of the three people killed in Monday's Boston Marathon bombings, was a student in Tarutis's Western civilization class nine years ago - one of many she took at the school during her time there from 2001 to 2005.

"I got choked up," he said. "No one wants to think that one of their students was among the missing, the dead or the wounded. When you realize how close to home some of these people are, it really strikes you hard."

On Monday, the college plans to honor the memory of the Medford native at a ceremony at its Wellesley Hills campus. Tarutis said he will be speaking and reading a poem at the event.

Other professors also remember Campbell, including Barbara Anne Kearney, who had her in her English composition class 11 years ago. Kearney said she doesn't recall any particular anecdotes or memories about Campbell, but like Tarutis said the name and face instantly registered.

"I think that speaks to her as an individual," Kearney said, "some pretty special quality she had."

Professors who knew her said she was a good student at MassBay where she obtained an Associate Degree in Business Administration in 2005 before transferring to UMass Boston. Tarutis said he remembers a gregarious, colorful young woman.

"On the very first day, she was very talkative," he said. "She had lots of energy, (was) kind of feisty, and had a great sense of humor."

Campbell wasn't afraid to speak her mind, Tarutis recalled, or mince words about what assignments she felt were better than others.

He added he wasn't surprised to find out later on that she had become a manager of a restaurant in Hingham, saying her personality was well-suited to a job dealing with a lot of people.

"She's sort of a typical MassBay success story," he said.

The promise of her life is what makes her passing so much harder to comprehend, however, professors who knew her said.

"It's been a terrible week," Kearney said. "This lays down another somber layer."

On Wednesday, MassBay president John O'Donnell sent a letter to staff and students letting them know he had contacted Campbell's family and offered the college's condolences.

"Please keep the Campbell family, and the countless other families and individuals who were affected by the bombings, in your thoughts and prayers," he wrote.

Monday's remembrance ceremony, which is open to the public, gets underway at 2:30 p.m. First responders and military personnel are encouraged to attend in uniform.

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Scott O'Connell can be reached at 508-626-4449 or soconnell@wickedlocal.com